Lamb Bhuna

 Hi, this recipe is from the January 2021 BBC GoodFood Issue, on page 82 by Tom Kerridge, it is part of his Fakeaway recipe section. Alternatively, you can access the recipe online here. Above the recipe, in the magazine, it suggests that slow cooked curries are better when made a day or two ahead, so the flavours have time to develop. So, I marinated the lamb two days before I wanted to serve, the next day, I made the curry and left it, off the heat over night, and on the day of serving, cooked the rice and naan, while heating up the curry in the oven, or over the hob, if you prefer. This curry had such a deep flavour to it and was so different to the average takeaway bhuna, the spices had more time to mature and there was more meat too. To be honest, I preferred it. The end result wasn't spicy as such, more flavourful. Personally, I do enjoy a spicy curry so I was a bit disappointed. However, the deep taste definitely made up for that. Enjoy!

Dietary Info:
-Unsuitable for Vegans {You could substitute the lamb for tofu, seitan, pulses e.g chickpeas, lentils or beans, or a chopped up veggie sausage or burger. You could also use the soya yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt in the naans}
-Unsuitable for Vegetarians {see above}
-Contains Dairy {Use a plain dairy-free yogurt e.g soya in place of the Greek in the naans}
-Contains Gluten {You can substitute for cauliflower rice, or another G-F rice of your preference, and use a gluten-free flour in place of self-raising}
-No Nuts

Ingredients:
-600g lamb neck fillet or shoulder, cut into large chunks {I used two boxes of 300g diced lamb}
For the marinade:
-6 garlic cloves, finely grated
-thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated {I used about 1/2tsp ground ginger}
-2tbsp malt vinegar
-1/2tsp ground cinnamon
-1tbsp sunflower oil {I used ground nut oil, but olive oil would work fine as well}
For the sauce
-3tbsp sunflower oil, plus a little extra if needed {I used ground nut oil, but any oil will be fine}
-2 onions, finely chopped
-10 curry leaves 
-2 dried chillies, or ½ tsp chilli flakes {I used 1/2tsp hot curry powder}
-1tsp cumin seeds
-1tsp mustard seeds
-1tsp ground coriander
 -1/2tsp fenugreek seeds or ground fenugreek
-1tbsp tomato purée
-400g can chopped tomatoes
-1tsp garam masala

Method: 
1:To make the marinade, combine the ingredients with a large pinch of salt in a large bowl. Toss in the lamb, cover and marinate for 1 hr at room temperature, or chill overnight. {I chilled overnight}
2:For the sauce, heat the oil in a flameproof casserole and fry the onions for 10 mins, stirring until soft and golden. Drizzle in more oil if the pan gets dry. Add the curry leaves and chillies and fry for a few minutes, then add the spices and cook for 5 mins more until the onions start to caramelise. {I added the garam masala here by accident, but it was fine and I added some extra at the end too}
3:Tip in the lamb along with the marinade and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, for 5 mins until the lamb browns. Add the tomato purée and cook for 1 min, then stir in the tomatoes and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and cook, stirring now and then, for 1 hr 20 mins until the lamb is tender. {Mine was fine after 1 hour, I stirred mine every 15mins, this helped it to not stick to the bottom of the pan}
4: Uncover and cook for 8-10mins more until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the garam masala and season. {This was just the reheating the next day}Will keep chilled for up to 3 days for frozen for 2 months. 

Naan Breads:

This recipe is used in my Turkish Flatbread-style pizza bases and when they go in the oven it is intended to melt the toppings but seeing as there was no need, I eliminated this step. This recipe makes 2 flat breads, and I used 1 between 3 people with curry, as we were also having rice. If we weren't I would have given everyone one naan/flatbread each. However, I was also catering for my younger sister who doesn't like curry, so she had the other naan/flatbread as a naan pizza, so hers went in the oven. 

Ingredients:
-150g Greek Yoghurt {I used full-fat, you could use 0% fat, fat free, natural or a dairy-free option yogurt too}
-160g self-raising flour
-1/4tsp salt
-1/8tsp cumin {I added extra to half the dough to make it more spicy, with some mixed dried herbs too}

Method:
1: In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Knead in the bowl, until a dough starts to form. Split in half and flour the worksurface. Now, roll each half out into 2 naan bread shapes.
2: Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat and fry each side of the naan for 5 mins. Add a drop of oil if needed. {It was fine for me}
3: Place both on a baking tray and bake for 5mins on 200℃fan/220℃425℉/Gas 7. 

What you can do for people who don't like curry:
Use the naan as a base for a pizza and top with whatever they like, then when you are making your naan, pop theirs in the oven and wait for the cheese, if using, to melt.

Toppings for this one:
-Tomato puree
-Cheese
-Sausage {pre-cooked}
-Salami
-Ham
-Sweetcorn